With solely two and a half weeks remaining within the Main League Baseball season, it positive seems to be like the consideration of being the Nationwide League’s MVP will go to both Atlanta Braves proper fielder Ronald Acuna Jr. or the Los Angeles Dodgers’ Mookie Betts, additionally a proper fielder.
Acuna, who has been atop the oddsboards just about all season at DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, PointsBet, and Caesars, amongst others, is the odds-on option to win the award for the primary time in his profession.
Betts, who took dwelling the AL award in 2018 whereas with the world-champion Boston Crimson Sox, isn’t all that far behind, in accordance with the betting websites.
There are additionally a handful of gamers who’re having nice seasons but not getting a lot motion on the boards, akin to LA first baseman Freddie Freeman, winner of the NL honor in 2020, and Braves first baseman Matt Olson, the runaway MLB chief in homers and RBIs.
Others nonetheless listed on betting websites are Miami second baseman Luis Arraez, MLB’s batting chief, and two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper of Philadelphia, alternating between first base and being the DH.
Let’s check out our Nationwide League MVP odds.
Odds for Nationwide League Most Priceless Participant 2023
Favorites to Win Nationwide League MVP in 2023
Ronald Acuna Jr., Braves, -700 (DraftKings)
Two weeks in the past, Acuna hit his thirtieth homer to turn out to be the one member of the 30-home run/60 steals membership in league historical past. But it surely nonetheless did not briefly preserve him from dropping behind Betts on MVP oddsboards.
However Acuna has continued his assault on the report books and certain quickly would be the founding member of the 40-homer, 70-steal membership. Nobody has had that many swipes in a season since Boston’s Jacoby Ellsbury in 2009. However he hit solely eight HRs.
Acuna’s batting common of .335 is third-best within the league, with 97 RBIs. And his arm within the outfield is well-respected.
His season has been much more exceptional contemplating that in mid-July of 2021, he suffered an ACL tear in his proper knee and missed the prospect to be part of the Braves’ run to the World Sequence title.
Maybe what’s unflattering about his recreation is his reluctance to expire ground-ball outs and routine flies, as identified by Philadelphia radio voices early this week. As they stated, it is not a very good look.
Regardless, the numbers converse for themselves. However now, although, isn’t the time to wager on Acuna. That ought to have been accomplished in late August when his odds have been north of even cash.
Mookie Betts, Dodgers, +475 (FanDuel)
Betts’ odds have fluctuated wildly this season, particularly previously month.
On Aug. 14, he was out there at +6000 at DraftKings and solely 13 days later was listed at -130 on the betting website. That coincided with Betts having an 18-game stretch wherein he had two-plus hits in 14 outings. In that span, his batting common soared from .283 to .317.
However he is struggled mightily in September, hitting .226 with just one homer and 5 runs batted in. And 4 of these RBIs got here in a single recreation. His common is all the way down to .312, however he is fifth within the main with 39 homers to go along with 97 RBIs.
What units him aside, although, is his WAR of 8.1, tops within the majors and stated to be one of many stats voters closely emphasize. Acuna is second at 7.4
Bettors in all probability could be clever to keep away from Betts, particularly those that blew an opportunity to leap on his bandwagon at +6000 not way back.
Wagering on him now could be like betting on the Baltimore Orioles to win the World Sequence at +850 (FanDuel) when you might have had them at +10000 (additionally FanDuel) the day earlier than the season commenced.
Freddie Freeman, Dodgers, +6600 (BetMGM)
Freeman does have the league’s second-best batting common at .337. However with solely 26 homers and 93 RBIs, his numbers are not any match for Acuna’s.
On the plus facet, he had his fifth four-hit recreation of the season on Tuesday in a rout of San Diego, together with a homer. However that lengthy ball was his first and just one in September.
His MVP odds received as brief as +400 on Aug. 13 however have lengthened since. It appears method too late within the season to offer him any hope. Surprisingly, his odds aren’t significantly longer, such because the numbers for the subsequent man on this record.
Matt Olson, Braves, +20000 (Multiple Sites)
It stays onerous to understand {that a} participant can have essentially the most homers and RBIs in baseball and never have odds close to what Acuna and Betts have.
Olson set a Braves report together with his 51st homer of the season, which is seven away from some other main leaguer. His 128 RBIs are 20 greater than the subsequent man. He is even hitting .279, not unhealthy for such a heavy hitter.
However there may be precedent for being missed regardless of such slugging prowess.
Two seasons in the past, Kansas Metropolis catcher Salvador Perez tied for the MLB lead with 48 homers. And nobody matched his 121 RBIs. However when it got here time to tally the AL MVP votes from members of the Baseball Writers’ Affiliation of America he completed seventh.
Maybe if Olson can go berserk on the plate the ultimate 16 video games and attain 60 homers he’d be price a wager. However not now.
Extra Lengthy Pictures to Nonetheless on the Board
Bryce Harper, Phillies +20000
Harper, who gained the MVP award in 2015 with Washington and two seasons in the past with the Phillies, is probably going on oddboards due to his repute, which incorporates being the NL Championship Sequence MVP for the pennant-winning Phillies in 2022.
However his season did not even begin until Might 2 after recovering from low season elbow surgical procedure, which is a cause for his pedestrian numbers of 17 homers, 61 RBIs, and a .295 common.
After hitting 10 homers in August with a .361 common, he is flamed out in September with a .182 common and two lengthy balls.
Do not even take into consideration betting right here even in the event you’re a Phillies fan.
Luis Arraez, Marlins, +20000 DraftKings
The season in all probability cannot finish quickly sufficient for Arraez, who has seen his common dip from .402 in late June to his present .349. It is nonetheless an amazing efficiency, however not MVP-caliber, contemplating he does not hit for energy and has solely seven dwelling runs.
Avert your eyes once you see his title on the oddsboards. Even when he have been to get successful in his subsequent 35 at-bats, he nonetheless would not be a .400 hitter that may catch the voters’ eyes.
2023 NL MVP Odds – FAQs
Who was the one participant to win the award and have a batting common of .400-plus?
- The St. Louis Cardinals’ Rogers Hornsby at .403 in 1925.
When did the AL and NL MVPs final meet in that season’s World Sequence?
- In 2012, Detroit’s Miguel Cabrera went up towards San Francisco’s Buster Posey.